Twitter's "Off with their heads" chaos
The votes are now in: Off with the head of Twitter. Musk will "abide by the results of this poll"
Chaos reigns
No day passes without headlines on Elon Musk's latest decisions about Twitter; chaos reigns like in the worst days of Trump's presidency, where getting attention in the media is more important than providing proper leadership.
The latest example was today; Musk asked Twitter followers if he should resign as the platform's CEO. In a Twitter poll that ended after 12 hours, more than 17 million votes were cast, and 57.5 percent of the respondents voted he should resign. This has nothing to do with a formal vote, so the question is if Musk found this an easy way out of the responsibilities of managing Twitter.
It seems like it; he is in charge of Twitter and can, in many ways, manipulate the outcome of his poll. So he may have chosen this path out of the chaos he created. What other reason would explain that he declared beforehand that he would respect the outcome of the vote?
On the other hand, he has made more promises on Twitter that proved to have no value at all. It may all just be a game to him. Just like the six billion dollars in food aid that millions of hungry people are still waiting for.
Banning Twitter accounts
Yesterday's chaos was Musk's announcement to ban accounts that promote rival social media platforms. The @TwitterSupport account announced: "We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter".
Musk seems to enjoy all the attention that he gets. Many others are worried and, true to the Twitter of the old days, manage to express their worries, anger, and frustration with a dose of humor.
Judd Legum tweeted that Musk's latest decision violates the new European Union rules. The Digital Markets Act gives examples of what Gatekeeper platforms (like Twitter) may no longer do once the new EU law enters into force in May. That includes: "prevent consumers from linking up to businesses outside their platforms" and "treat services and products offered by the gatekeeper itself more favorably in ranking than similar services or products offered by third parties on the gatekeeper's platform."
The penalty can be a fine of up to 20 percent of Twitter's annual revenue.
Some commenters with no faith in Twitter's future were quick to notice that 20 percent of zero is still zero, so Elon Musk shouldn't be worried.
The same Twitter account was quick to find an example of Musk's EV company Tesla promoting its Facebook account on Twitter. He added: "I trust you will be suspending this account shortly."
Musk, who seems to have time to fly to Qatar for the World Cup finals, tweeted in real time about his presence there. It led to Brian Krassenstein's tweet asking, "If journalists link to this tweet, will they be 'doxxing' @elonmusk by sharing his real-time location and thus risk getting banned?"
Social media has become part of our daily lives
Social media has become part of my daily life in the past decade. And after all these years, I still remember my first-ever conversation about social media. I was walking through the beautiful Old Town of Vienna with my friend Hidayet, who enthusiastically told me about Facebook. This must have been around 2005. I remember not being convinced by his stories that I should spend any time on such a novelty, and I didn't really understand what he described. But like practically everyone else, it was just a matter of time before I started my Facebook account.
I also remember when I decided to stop being active on Facebook during lunch with another friend, Johan, in another European capital, Stockholm. It was probably around 2018 or perhaps a bit later. I could take a moment to check on my dormant Facebook account when I let it fall asleep, but I don't feel like logging in and am unsure about my password. Besides, there is the risk that I might like the platform again, which is not unthinkable when seeing updates from old friends.
We spoke during that lunch in the beautiful Van der Nootska Palace about the harvesting of personal data by social media and its use, or abuse, in targeting voters in political advertising like it was done in the run-up to the Brexit referendum.
Mastodon
And since I still remember these two moments, it is likely that I will someday remember the Twitter chaos of the last months of 2022. Many users have left Twitter and moved to Mastodon. I noticed that my Twitter following, which used to grow with about 80 followers per day, is now slowly going down. Meanwhile, my Mastodon account, which you can follow via this link, is increasing with about a hundred followers per day.
The most straightforward explanation is that some of my followers leave Twitter and then find me on Mastodon. However, in the past few days, I discovered this is not very likely; my Mastodon account continues to grow just as fast after Musk's latest moves to prevent the Twitter exodus.
In the days before yesterday's announcement to ban accounts that promote rival social media platforms, Musk was solely targeting the mentioning of the rapidly growing but still tiny competitor Mastodon to stop the "TwitterMigration" as a popular hashtag dubbed this move. As a result, Musk decided that all links to Mastodon should be flagged as malware.
He went so far that even link shorteners are recognized by his computers. And adding your Mastodon link to your bio is no longer possible. Musk, the self-proclaimed champion of free speech, is clearly lying to millions; Mastodon is not malware, and there is no danger in using it except for breaking Musk's near monopoly on microblogging that he bought for 44 billion dollars.
Should I stay or should I go now?
Is that a reason to leave Twitter? Many of us will be reminded of The Clash when wondering, "Should I stay or should I go?" We will all individually weigh the pros and cons and come to different conclusions. For me, there was, at least until now, more to say for staying on Twitter. But tomorrow, it could be different. It's a rapidly developing story, albeit one with a downward trend. I don't have much hope the situation will improve, but as long as I can share another voice than the increasingly dominant right-wing populism on Twitter, it may have some value.
But my hopes, and social media future, are likely on other greener pastures. So while I still tweet, is spend more and more time on Mastodon, where everyone is so friendly. I pop up there a few times a day for a breath of fresh air before going back into the jungle of Twitter.
I hope a scientist will research how people feel when tested by spending half an hour on each platform. For example, will we get a significant increase of happy hormones like serotonin, dopamine, or endorphins in our bloodstream when we switch from the fight or flight mode on Twitter to the kindness and respect we find on Mastodon?
“Off with their heads”"
It's hard to get used to the idea that Twitter is now owned by one man and one that shows increasingly authoritarian characteristics. The way Musk rules and fires his employees are just as harsh as he deals with dissent on his 44 billion side hustle, where free speech for him means that other voices are less welcome. Distorting the truth or outright lies is for him within his boundaries for free speech, as long as it concerns his freedom of speech. Musk is increasingly behaving like the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland:
"The Queen had only one way of settling all difficulties, great or small. 'Off with his head!' she said, without even looking around."
Yesterday's news was that Musk allowed some of the recently beheaded journalists from the Washington Post, the New York Times, and CNN he suspended from Twitter back onto his platform. It was mere bullying and intimidation. The message to these reporters and anyone else is clear: this is Musk's personal space, and anyone who says anything critical about him risks being thrown off the platform.
So why do I grow faster on Mastodon than lose followers on Twitter? It's not the strength of Mastodon that makes it grow so fast, it has been available for years, but the failure of the new Twitter management (or lack of it) makes it so popular.
And if you haven't found me there yet: this is the link to my Mastodon account. You may need it if you look for me. Because now, I will post this blog on Twitter...
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Notes:
Illustration: Charles Robinson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
It’s all about the bullying and intimidation just because he can.
A pity that most people who accumulate astronomical wealth use it like a mad tyrant when it could be used far better with benevolence and empathy.
Ellen Schuringa posted this on Twitter in response to another post who said Musk is now allowing swastikas on Twitter and whether to stay or go:
“ As my Dutch aunt pointed out to my grandmother in 1939 “if we all leave the Germans can just march in”. So they stayed, and got involved in the resistance. Not quite the same thing, but still…”
When thinking about whether to stay or go, I think I prefer to join the resistance as long as possible although I am on Mastodon and liking it better as I get more familiar.
Very thoughtful article.
Interesting review/actualisation of facts. Predictable results in the near future. Doubts always. Nothing is guaranteed. With or without social media platforms all I want for Christmas is peace of mind, slopes of health, sparks of love, and unquestionable friends to remember.
Merry Christmas and a Hopeful Year to everyone who will read this. Stay safe, busy and aware.